"Turkish Leader Denounces Graft Investigation" is an extensive article published today by the New York Times.
"Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said in comments reported Thursday that he believes he is the ultimate target of a bribery and corruption investigation that has plunged his government into one of its worst crises since he came to power a decade ago," the article begins.
"The crisis is in sharp contrast to the image that Turkey has projected as an exemplar of a prosperous, Muslim-majority country based on democratic principles. A NATO member, Turkey has been embraced by the United States and Europe as a force for stability in the tumultuous Middle East, and the country has sought to play an important role in shaping the outcome of crises in Syria, Egypt and over Iran’s nuclear program. With Mr. Erdogan now preoccupied with political survival, Turkey’s role in the region and its relationship with the West are in question. The turmoil has taken a toll on the Turkish currency, the lira, which fell to a new low against the dollar on Thursday. Turkish stocks and bonds also fell, a further reflection of nervousness among investors about the political upheaval and its potential effect on the economy," the article writes.
"Most of the liberals and secular rightists no longer support the party, and now that Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Gulen, who represent different Turkish Islamist traditions, are basically at war, the party is at risk of collapsing, analysts said," the article reads.
"More broadly, the clash is seen by some as a test of the viability of political Islam, and comes after Islamist movements have struggled to maintain power in post-revolutionary Egypt and Tunisia. “What we have seen in Egypt and Tunisia was a fight between Islamists and non-Islamists,” Mr. Oktem said. “What we are seeing in Turkey is between two Islamist movements.” The question is whether the clash will upend the Turkish political system. “This kind of power struggle between two different Islamist groups might make the non-Islamist, secular groups more powerful, in Turkey’s case,” Mr. Oktem said. Mr. Erdogan’s assertions of a foreign plot, implying American and Israeli subterfuge, have angered the United States and damaged his once strong personal bond with President Obama. The State Department, in a statement issued Tuesday, said attacks in the pro-government Turkish news media against American officials were deeply disturbing'," the article concludes.
